Lady Falcons down DeSoto Central, WU wins three

Coach Richard Byrd was hoping to have a good showing during the Tupelo Softball Association Jamboree. He got that and then some as the Lady Falcons picked up a wave of momentum heading into division play with a 2-1 win over 5A DeSoto Central Lady Jaguars on Saturday.

Ingomar got on the board in the bottom of the second when Shelly Grisham smashed a RBI double to the fence in left to score Maggie Cobb from first, but the sophomore wasn’t done with her big-game heroics.

The Lady Jags tied the game in the fifth and threatened to build on their momentum with bases loaded and two outs, but Natalie Frenn induced the final out of the inning with a routine fly ball to Cobb in center to escape the inning with minimum damage done.

DeSoto Central once again appeared to grab momentum in the sixth, but Shelly snagged one-out line drive over her head and quickly scrambled to first base to turn an inning-ending double play.

The home plate umpire notified the dugouts during the exchange that the time limit rule was going to be enforced at the end of the inning and the game would end in a tie if the Lady Falcons did not score a run. A confident Grisham answered, “there ain’t going to be no tie” as the team gathered for their final at bat.

Shauna Girsham, Shelly’s older sister, reached on an error to lead off the inning and advanced to third when Haley Taylor looped a one-out single to right. Kayla Stevens legged out a two-out infield single to plate the game winning run sending the Lady Falcons and their fans into a frenzy.

Taylor finished 2-for-3 with a pair of singles while Frenn struck out three and gave up five hits to pick up the win.

Ingomar avenged an early season loss to Biggersville with a 13-2 win on Friday. Errors cost the Lady Falcons in their 12-2 loss to 3A power Mooreville and 7-2 decision to 4A Lafayette County.

The Lady Falcons are scheduled for a pair of division road games against Hickory Flat on Tuesday and Falkner on Thursday before participating in the South Pontotoc Tournament on Saturday.

West Union impressive in Tupelo

West Union picked up wins over Booneville, Caledonia, and Mantachie, but despite dropping a game behind a disappointing performance against 5A Olive Branch the Lady Eagles still won their pool of the TSA Jamboree.